Fact Sheet – System-Wide Information Management (SWIM)

For Immediate Release

May 2, 2006
Contact: Tammy L. Jones
Phone: (202) 267-3883

In order to better connect the various networks that use or provide aviation-related information, the FAA has initiated System-Wide Information Management, or SWIM, a program that will essentially provide a “National Airspace System (NAS)-Wide Web” for data.

The FAA, the military, other government agencies, and the international aviation community that currently re-create the same data manually or communicate point-to-point using expensive, complex, custom interfaces will simply reach out to the NAS to get what they need.

SWIM will manage surveillance, weather, and flight data, aeronautical and NAS status information, and will seamlessly and securely provide it to NAS customers in a well-understood and useable format. SWIM will also enable operational efficiency by allowing NAS customers to access the same data, in the same formats, at the same time. This is a necessary first step towards developing a flexible Next-Generation Air Transportation System.

The SWIM program will develop the policies and standards to transition today’s cumbersome and expensive data communications system to a network-centric operation, saving millions in development and maintenance costs associated with continuing today’s custom interface design.

SWIM infrastructure will be designed to use commercially available equipment and will be implemented based on accepted industry standards and recommended practices. Not all data will be made available to all users and systems; comprehensive security rules will define who can publish data to the system and who can access it.